LittleWaySoul Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 (edited) Yo, do you pronounce "Nihil" as NEE-heel or NEE-keel? I recently learned that the "H" in Latin is sometimes pronounced with a "K" sound. Edited September 5, 2016 by LittleWaySoul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriela Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 I asked this, too. Apparently, the 'k' sound is the original Roman pronunciation. Liturgical Latin developed the 'h' pronunciation. Or something like that. I'm sure someone will come in and correct me. I just needed to say that the 'k' pronunciation is horrible and should be wiped off the face of the planet. I want to elbow people in the jaw when they use it next to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyAnn Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 I know very little about Latin although I was told in one of the two Latin classes I had that classical Latin and liturgical Latin are somtimes pronounced differently. I've always heard it prounced with an 'h' not a 'k'. But again, I know nothing about Latin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 5 hours ago, Gabriela said: I want to elbow people in the jaw when they use it next to me. I'll remember to stand far away from you @Nihil Obstat I think this discussion has happened before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 My understanding is that it is a little bit between an h and a k sound. Not exactly a sound with an English analogue... I think of it as niː - xɪl . Keep in mind I have never studied Latin. Also, thanks for tagging me, @truthfinder. I may not have seen this for a while otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 hmm, just looked that up, and it's saying voiceless velar fricative, similar to the Scottish 'loch' (not "lock"). Which doesn't that almost put it up there with a glottal stop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 45 minutes ago, truthfinder said: hmm, just looked that up, and it's saying voiceless velar fricative, similar to the Scottish 'loch' (not "lock"). Which doesn't that almost put it up there with a glottal stop? Kind of like a glottal stop without the stop. I think. I only got a D in Linguistics. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriela Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Huh. That means it's like chet in Hebrew or "ch" in German, no? Like "L'chaim" or "Ich"? That would be much better than a hard k. Seriously, hard k incites to violence... :hard shudder emoticon: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleWaySoul Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 That's kind of what I was thinking! It sounds so odd in my head pronounced with a hard K. I'm in Latin right now and we're trying to get ecclesial/classical pronunciation differences ironed out so that's why I was wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 13 minutes ago, Gabriela said: Huh. That means it's like chet in Hebrew or "ch" in German, no? Like "L'chaim" or "Ich"? That would be much better than a hard k. Seriously, hard k incites to violence... :hard shudder emoticon: Yes, that is my understanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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